Science in Movies: Disasters, Space, Dinosaurs & Pandemics

How real is the science behind Hollywood’s biggest movies? From asteroid impacts and climate collapse to black holes, dinosaurs, and global pandemics, we’ll look at science concepts depicted in popular films. Using movies such as Interstellar, Jurassic Park, The Martian, Planet of the Apes, and World War Z, we will examine what filmmakers get right and what they exaggerate. Explore topics including space travel, extinction events, climate change, genetic engineering, epidemiology, and human behavior during crises through film clips, discussion, and accessible science.

No science background required, just your curiosity and a love of movies. Please note that we’ll discuss the movie plots and breakdown scenes in detail, so there will be major spoilers if you haven’t seen these movies!